Chapter 98

The sun was setting rapidly over the ocean when Craig, Andrew and Patrick came back from Vredenburg. Andrew had asked for Delmar and Bernard to stay with Emily and Sarah at their neighbour, Brian's house while they went to scout the area where Andrew was supposed to meet the enemy later that evening. They had come as close as possible to the warehouse that Francois mentioned, the portal of hell. Andrew could sense the darkness in the place from a distance and he knew that Francois was not lying. They had looked at the warehouse from all angles and tried to strategize the night that lay ahead. Andrew knew that the open field would soon turn into a battleground which he was looking forward to. He knew he had to protect his brother at all costs for he was the one who could close this portal of hell. If he failed his brother, then he would have failed the whole world as well as his Viking god and companions. Once they were satisfied they decided to go home again. Andrew knew Victor and his Satanist friends would try anything to regain their leverage. His family was in great danger and they all had to be very careful.

Andrew was not far from the truth. When they approached the house, they noticed that they indeed had a visit from them. Their house had been vandalised with paint. Large pentagrams had been painted on the walls in black. Words were sprayed on the garage door which said: Satan is coming. Andrew's heart sank when he thought about Emily and his mother hiding at their neighbour's house. He jumped out of the kombi and started running for Brian's house. Before he knocked on the door, he made sure that there were no prying eyes watching. He knocked and felt his heart throbbing in his throat. He was joined by Patrick and Craig who had the same concern. The door cracked open slightly with the chain in place. Brian's face appeared behind the slid.

'Are you guys all right?' Andrew asked.

The door closed and Andrew could hear the chain being dislodged. The door opened again and this time he noticed Emily and Sarah's faces followed by Delmar Bernard and Brian. Andrew felt relieved.

'Thank God,' Andrew sighed.

'I think your house is toast man,' Bernard said. 'We heard someone trashing it, but we could not dare to come out.'

Andrew noticed the fear on Emily and Sarah's faces. He wanted to end this nightmare. Emily came forward and gave Andrew a hug. He held her tight. 'It's okay Em. I'll be back soon, I promise.'

'Do you want to come in,' Brian asked.

Andrew let go of Emily and said, 'It's okay, thank you, sir. We have to prepare for the night, but thank you for helping us during these critical times and thank you for protecting my family.'

'Don't mention it son. We are here to help each other. I know what you are doing. It is you we should thank,' Brian said shifting his glasses with his thumb and index finger.

Andrew managed a smile, 'Mom, Em, have you got everything you need? Is there anything else I can get you?'

'I think we'll be fine. We grabbed most of the things before we came here,' Sarah said.

'Delmar, Bernie, what about you guys?' Andrew asked. 'Need anything?'

'We're sorted thank you, bro,' Bernard said. 'A bonfire and a couple of lamb chops would have been nice, but hey, Uncle Brian has satellite so I'm more than happy.' Andrew noticed how Bernard was trying to make the best of a worst situation. He was without a doubt cracking jokes in times like this trying to make everyone feel at ease.

'You're good friends. I'll make it up to all of you. I promise. Once this is over, I will - '

'You don't have to do anything. Come back to us alive,' Sarah interrupted. She hugged him tightly for a while. He looked over Sarah's shoulder and noticed how Patrick and Craig handed out hugs as well. At least Delmar can keep Emily good company and that was at least something good out of this mess they were in.

Craig asked Brian to lock the door again before they headed back to the house. Besides the paint job, the windows had been smashed, at least all the front ones.

The house was dark when they entered. Shards of glass cracked underneath their shoes. Several large rocks and bricks lay scattered on the floor. Craig turned on the lights to assess the damage. Some bricks even lay on the leather couches and another shattered the TV.

'Fuckers,' Craig said sharply.

Andrew looked up from the floor. He looked into Craig's eyes and then at Patrick. 'Let's end this tonight.'

***

From a distance, someone was watching them. She came out from behind a tree where she was hiding. She had witnessed how the three men ran to the house next door. The one man she knew well as Craig. That was the man who did not fall for her seduction. She sensed great power in one of the boys, a power that she almost feared. She realised that they were probably Craig's two boys. She knew that one of the boys had the power within, the power and the reason why she was summoned here, the power they had to destroy before it destroyed them. She knew she would not be able to do it alone, but she could strike when they were at their weakest point. There was no mistake in the fact that someone dear to them was staying at their neighbour's house. They needed protection from her kind. She knew the boy with the power's mother was hidden there as well. This was the place where she would have to start. When the time was right, she would destroy the mother bitch who brought the power into this world. If anyone would oppose her, she would destroy them too.